IMPORTATION OF CARS

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22656, 10 March 1939, Page 11

IMPORTATION OF CARS

STATEMENT BY DUNEDIN ' DEADER [THE PRESS Special Service.] ' DUNEDIN,- March 9. Although most of the motor firms in Dunedin do not appear to be having any difficulty so far in securing supplies of new cars under the import restrictions', one ;firm of direct importers of British cars has been severely embarrassed by the control plan. The • manager of the firm told’ a renofter to-day that he was cut off With the number, of cars he had on order when the restrictions were announced cn December 5 last, and although an ap- ■ peal had been sent forward to the Minister for Customs (thd Hon. W. Nash), no variation of the original decision had so far .been made, f The whole of the material, and lab-

our employed in the manufacture of the cars was English, the importer said, yet that line, appeared to have been restricted by the Customs Department, to an appreciably. greater extent than others which were not wholly British in origin. Consequently he now had on hand about six weeks’ supply of cars to last until the end of June. Similar difficulties were being experienced by importers of that line of cars in other centres, so that there, was little likelihood of his being able to obtajn supplies from elsewhere in New Zealand. He said that for the last two years plants for the assembly of these cars in New Zealand had been running at Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, but since the drastic restriction experienced applied to completely knocked, down units, as well as to assembled cars, it was difficult to. sec how these-plants would.be able to carry on unless some relaxation of the restrictions was granted.